GUYANESE will vote en masse in nine days; and according to Head of State, President Donald Ramotar, these are the most important elections ever to be held in the nation’s history. Ramotar on Thursday evening addressed a People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) public meeting at Diamond Housing Scheme on the East Bank of Demerara.

Several hundred persons turned out in support and also saw in attendance women’s rights activist Indra Chandarpal, former A Partnership for National Unity’s (APNU) Member of Parliament, Africo Selman, among others.
The President, in his address to the gathering, sought to impress on attendees the importance of the decision to be made come May 11.
JUDGMENT TIME
Election Day 2015, according to President Ramotar, “is no doubt the most important elections in the history of our country.”
“You know we have come a far way,” the President asserted and added that Government wants to accelerate the unprecedented progress made so far and that an election is also time for the parties to be judged on their records.

Noting that PPP/C has a proud history of development and “it will run on this record”, President Ramotar said his administration’s focus of spending on the social sector, as “a country’s greatest asset is its people” and the gains over the years in the education sector which has seen the attainment of universal nursery and primary education with the secondary level soon to be achieved.
The political Opposition was singled out for their moves to cut some $89 billion from the budget and the effect this had on ordinary citizens’ lives.
Despite all their promises now, President Ramotar explained that “the Opposition has consistently refused to be part of the developmental process…how can they be trusted?” he asked.
Residents were urged to ensure that they not only go out and vote, but also that their ballots are correctly stamped before being placed in ballot boxes on Elections Day, as he opined that “nothing must be left to chance.”
In another of the impassioned presentations, Mohammed Colander, a young businessman from the community, in endorsing the PPP/C administration, appealed to voters to contemplate long and hard on the choice to be made when the time comes to vote.

“Come May 11, we all have a big decision, a choice, these elections you can choose to move forward with a PPP Government, or we make a U-turn to a dark and dismal period in our history.”
According to the young businessman, there has been demonstrated growth in the economy over the years that need to be preserved.
MORE WORTH
He said the growth and development experienced over the years in Guyana were not the result of any favours of the PPP/C, but rather it was an obligation of Government.
“Our country has more worth today,” said Colander.
The tangible progress and development, according to Colander, is a direct result of the enabling environment created by successive PPP/C Governments.
According to Colander, successive PPP/C Governments brought Guyana out of a quagmire and that this didn’t happen “by a fluke.”
He implored the gathering to think how much more could have been accomplished by Government had the political Opposition not acted so irresponsibly.
Colander used the opportunity to invite the primarily Diamond, EBD residents to draw reference also to the lost opportunities by still not having the Amaila Falls Hydroelectric plant in place.
ONLY OPTION
“We cannot afford to repeat history. Let us make our choice carefully, said Colander.
He said the only viable choice for “your children’s future is Donald Ramotar and the PPP Government.”
Other speakers at Thursday evening’s public meeting spoke to the “dark days” under the previous administration that had run the country roughshod for 28 years.
Introduced to the podium as a ‘Champion of Women’s Rights’, Ms Indranie Chandarpal spoke to the fact that the development of Diamond Housing Scheme – one of the largest in the country – is testament to the progress made over the years under the leadership and vision of incumbent administration.
The East Bank of Demerara, according to Chandarpal, has certainly grown and she asked rhetorically, “Look at what the PPP had been able to do in less than 23 years.”
She said when the PPP/C took Office in 1992, it was with the mandate of a time to rebuild and “we took this dilapidated, poverty-stricken country and changed the priority around.”
Chandarpal told the gathering that over the years the political Opposition has only ever been interested in thwarting the efforts of the PPP/C.

“We are seeing history repeat itself…Those people were in the driver’s seat for 28 years…They have no morality, no shame, it is our job to expose them all the way.”
She told residents of Diamond “Don’t allow these people to fool you. It is time to kick them out do not let them come into your communities.”
LAUGHING STOCK
According to Chandarpal, under the previous administration, “they made us the laughing stock of the Caribbean when having a loaf of bread was a sin…They took away our pride and dignity and made us live like thieves for basic food.”
Vickram Bharrat, another of the young PPP/C activists to speak to the Diamond gathering ahead of the May 11 elections, asked, “Are we ready to continue the progress, are we ready to re-elect Donald Ramotar?”
He said the evidence of progress is there for all to see, “you tell me what you see…you see progress and development.”
He too also used the opportunity to seek to have the East Bank Demerara residents reflect on the actions of the political Opposition while it was in office.
“Remember in 1997 they say they don’t want no white woman [Janet Jagan]…They created mayhem. Remember the days when they had, ‘Slow fyah moh fyah’.”
According to Bharrat, the political Opposition has no interest in the development of the country. “Every project they against. Their aim is not to develop Guyana. We must ensure that these people do not return to Government.”
SCARED OF BHARRAT JAGDEO
In his pitch to the electorate, he asked supporters: “How can you assess what the PPP has done if you don’t reflect on where we came from…They want us to forget.”

A confident Bharrat said too that many of those persons gathered to listen to the PPP/C leadership are in possession of multiple-year visas to travel to countries such as the United States of America.
He also used the opportunity to defend his namesake, former President Bharrat Jagdeo.
The political Opposition, he said, are literally afraid of Jagdeo, hence the resort to constant bombardments.
“When they hear the name ‘Bharrat Jagdeo’, dem tremble…He is part and parcel of the PPP,” he said, surmising it is because of the political Opposition’s fear of the former President.

(by Gary Eleazar)